****S O J O M A I L****
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+++++++++++++++++++++++++ 08-September-2000 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++
A B r a n d N e w S o j o N e t !
*Check out our new look - and much more
Q u o t e o f t h e W e e k
*MLK Jr. on the walking dead
H e a r t s & M i n d s
*Looking in the right direction
P. O. V.
*Cardinal Mahony: End the death penalty
F u n n y B u s i n e s s
*The atheist and the bear
C u l t u r e W a t c h
*Brand masters target your kids
S p i r i t u a l P r a c t i c e s
*The ABCs of friendship
H e a r i n g t h e C a l l
*Chuck Collins: Building a fair economy
O n t h e R o a d
*We're coming to a town near you
W e b S c e n e
*Discover how your mutual fund invests
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S o j o N e t 2 . 0
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
It's Alive!
The new and improved SojoNet is now online! http://www.sojo.net
New Features Include:
*SojoNews: Up-to-date news, commentaries, and action alerts
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Q u o t e o f t h e W e e k
Our lives begin to end the day we become silent
about things that matter.
--Martin Luther King Jr.
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H e a r t s & M i n d s
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Look Down and Blame Up
By Jim Wallis
Every so often you hear an idea or a phrase that
gets to the heart of the matter and becomes an
insight that explains a lot of things. That
happened to me at the Shadow Conventions
when listening to Dean Trulear speak on our
"poverty day" programs at both the Philadelphia
and Los Angeles conventions. Dean is the
director of Faith-based Initiatives at
Public/Private Ventures in Philadelphia, which
brings both expertise and resources to urban churches
on the front lines of the battle against violence and
poverty.
Trulear was talking about the role of the middle
class in the fight to overcome poverty, and he said
something that really jumped out at me. "Most of
the time," said Trulear, "people tend to look up and
blame down." That's a mistake, he said -- and it's also
not biblical.
He went on to explain. Middle class people "look up,"
meaning that they aspire to move up the economic
ladder and they like to identify themselves with those
higher up than they are. At the same time, they also
"blame down," meaning they are critical of those below
them, often even scapegoating those who are poorer
than they are as the source of many problems.
That's just the opposite of what people should be
doing, said Trulear. "We should look down, and blame
up." We should be identifying ourselves with those
who have been shut out and left behind, while seeing
the sources of many problems to be most often with
those higher up the economic hierarchy." That, he
said, is much truer to the reality of our social
problems, and it is what the Bible suggests as the
more appropriate attitude.
Biblical writers tend much more to identify with
and be sympathetic to the poor and vulnerable, while
putting most of the responsibility for poverty and
injustice on the rich and powerful. Yes, in the Bible
there is blame for poverty. It's not just an accident or
nobody's fault. And, in the Bible, blame for poverty is
seldom laid at the feet of the poor, as is so common in
our society. Blaming the rich is not class warfare, as
some would say -- it's just biblical faith.
Of course, many of us have been saying things along
those lines for years, but Trulear's phrase just summed
it up for me so well. When I asked Dean about the
insight, he gave credit for the concept to John Raines,
a professor at Temple University, who offered the idea
at Roundtable on "Business and the local Church,"
sponsored by the New Jersey Council of Churches.
Thanks John and Dean! Your simple phrase puts
biblical economic ethics in a nutshell, as they say.
And it's a good insight for reflection, both for
individuals and congregations. Are we "looking up
and blaming down," or are we beginning to learn how
to "look down and blame up?"
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Y o u ' r e I n v i t e d...
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++
To a Sojourners event next Thursday, September 14,
at 7 p.m. Contributing editor Karl Gaspar will speak at
the Sojourners magazine office.
Karl Gaspar is a long-time liberation activist in the
Philippines (and an occasional contributor to
Sojourners magazine). He's on a rare visit to the
States. This will be an informal evening with Karl, a
chance to hear from him and socialize with other
Sojourners in the area.
Join us if you're in the neighborhood. Sojourners
is located at 2401 15th Street NW in Washington,
D.C. -- Just across from Meridian Hill Park. (Free.)
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P. O. V.
++++++++++++++++++++++
Stop the death penalty!
By Cardinal Roger Mahony,
Archbishop of Los Angeles
I am a pastor who has witnessed the irreparable
pain and sorrow caused by violence in our
communities. I have presided at the funerals of
police officers killed in the line of duty. I
have sought to console and comfort families who
have lost children to drive-by shootings. I have
heard the concerns and fears of parents who live --
day in and day out -- surrounded by the violence
that haunts their neighborhoods.
As a priest, I have seen the pain of those whose
lives have been forever altered by the loss of a
loved one to senseless murder. Their own struggles
have tested not only their faith but the faith of
those who walk with them. As their own quest for
healing has brought them closer to God, their
witness has been a light of hope to those
who accompany them.
I believe that the reality of sin demands that
those who injure others must make reparation. But
I do not believe that society is made safer,
that our communities are made whole, or that our
social fabric is strengthened by killing those who
kill others. Instead, the death penalty perpetuates
an insidious cycle of violence that, in the end,
diminishes all of us.
For centuries, the Catholic Church accepted the
right of the state to take a life in order to protect
society. But over time and in the light of new
realities, Catholic teaching now recognizes that
there are nonviolent means to protect society and
to hold offenders accountable. Church teaching now
clearly argues for the abolition of capital
punishment....[]
For the full commentary on the death penalty
as it appears in the Sept/Oct issue of Sojourners
magazine, go to:
http://www.sojo.net/magazine/index.cfm/action/sojourners/issue/soj0009/article/000941b.html
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F u n n y B u s i n e s s
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++
An atheist was taking a walk through the woods,
admiring all that the "accident of evolution"
had created.
"What majestic trees! What powerful
rivers! What beautiful animals!" he said to himself.
As he was walking alongside the river he heard
a rustling in the bushes behind him. He turned
to look.
He saw a 7-foot grizzly charge towards him.
He ran as fast as he could up the path. He looked
over his shoulder and saw that the bear was closing.
He ran even faster, so scared that tears were coming
down his eyes. He looked over his shoulder again,
and the bear was even closer. His heart was pumping
frantically and he tried to run even faster. He
tripped and fell on the ground. He rolled over to
pick himself up but saw the bear, right on top of
him, reaching for him with his left paw and raising
his right paw to strike him.
At that instant the atheist cried out "Oh my God!...."
Time stopped. The bear froze. The forest was silent.
Even the river stopped moving.
As a bright light shone upon the man, a voice came
out of the sky, "You deny my existence for all of
these years, teach others I don't exist, and even
credit creation to a cosmic accident. Do you expect
me to help you out of this predicament? Am I to
count you as a believer?"
The atheist looked directly into the light. "It
would be hypocritical to ask to be a Christian
after all these years, but perhaps could you
make the bear a Christian?"
"Very well," said the voice. The light went out.
The river ran again. And the sounds of the forest
resumed. And then the bear dropped his right paw...
brought both paws together...bowed his head and spoke:
"Lord, for this food which I am about to receive,
I am truly thankful..."
*Sent by SojoMail reader David Monson from Albuquerque,
New Mexico
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C u l t u r e W a t c h
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Branded for Life
21st century global marketers are
more seductive than ever. And they
want your kids.
By Tom Sine
In the last seven years, a borderless youth
culture has emerged. The uniform is Levi's. The
drink is Coke. And they are all hard-wired to the
same pop media. Outside the United States this
phenomena is seen not only as a product of
globalization, but as a new form of American
colonization. The world is beginning to look like
an American strip mall, complete with KFC, Pizza
Hut, and the Golden Arches.
The editors of Vanity Fair wrote: "The power of
America...has moved from its role as military-
industrial complex to a new supremacy as the world¹s
entertainment-information superpower." Not surprising,
MTV is one of the most effective vehicles for
galvanizing the young into this global youth culture.
In Naomi Klein's provocative new book No Logo, she
cites the New World Teen Study, which found that the
single most significant factor contributing to the
shared taste of the middle-class teens it surveyed
was TV -- in particular MTV, which 85 percent of them
watch every day. "The more viewers there are to absorb
MTV's vision," she says, "the more homogeneous a market
its advertisers have to sell their products."
The world¹s youth are targeted for a very simple
reason -- they are more amenable to the values of the
global shopping mall than their parents' generation.
While adults often still prefer culturally specific
customs, young people, according to economist Joseph
Quinlan, "prefer Coke to tea, Nike to sandals, Chicken
McNuggets to rice, [and] credit cards to cash."
McWorld¹s marketers are not just interested in
selling products to the global youth. They are intent
on changing their values so they will all want to buy
the same products. Whether we recognize it or not,
people of faith are in a worldwide contest for the
hearts and minds of the next generation.[]
To read the full story on global branding as it
appeared in the Sept/Oct edition of Sojourners
magazine, go to:
http://www.sojo.net/magazine/index.cfm/action/sojourners/issue/soj0009/article/000912.html
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S p i r i t u a l P r a c t i c e s
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
How well do you spell "friend?"
A friend....
(A)ccepts you as you are
(B)elieves in "you"
(C)alls you just to say "Hi"
(D)oesn't give up on you
(E)nvisions the whole of you (even the unfinished parts)
(F)orgives your mistakes
(G)ives unconditionally
(H)elps you
(I)nvites you over
(J)ust "be" with you
(K)eeps you close at heart
(L)oves you for who you are
(M)akes a difference in your life
(N)ever judges
(O)ffers support
(P)icks you up
(Q)uiets your fears
(R)aises your spirits
(S)ays nice things about you
(T)ells you the truth when you need to hear it
(U)nderstands you
(V)alues you
(W)alks beside you
(X)-plain things you don't understand
(Y)ells when you won't listen and
(Z)aps you back to reality
*Sent in by SojoMail reader Gene Wilkins of
El Granada, California
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H e a r i n g t h e C a l l
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
What you can do to build a fair economy
Chuck Collins is co-director of United for a
Fair Economy in Boston (www.ufenet.org). His
new book is Economic Apartheid in America: A
Primer on Economic Inequality and Insecurity,
by Chuck Collins and Felice Yeskel (The New
Press, August 2000). He was interviewed by Call
to Renewal' Rebekah Menning.
Call: How did United for a Fair Economy come about?
Chuck Collins: In 1994, a group of us who had
been working on poverty issues formed a study
group to discuss "backlash" against poor people
and immigrants. We came to understand that as
economic insecurity in society rose, low-income
people and immigrants became the targets, the
scapegoats. We also were alarmed about rapidly
growing inequality in income and assets (wealth).
We wondered why the growing economic divide
polarizing our society was not more of a publicly
discussed issue. A year later, we formed United
for a Fair Economy to raise the profile of the
income and wealth gap and to promote solutions
for a more fair economy.
Call: What are some simple things that we can
do to be socially responsible with our wealth,
whether we make $20,000 a year or $200,000?
Chuck Collins: We think it's important to remember
two things. One is that the inequities in the
economy are structural, the result of rule changes
(for example, global trade and federal reserve and
tax policy) that have benefited large-asset owners
at the expense of wage earners. The second is that
there is a role for everyone, including the wealthy,
in speaking out about these rule changes and advocating
for a fair economy. Philanthropy, on its own, will
not address the root causes of these inequities.
We can all make a difference with whatever clout
we have -- as consumers, voters, givers, members of
congregations with investments, and so on. The most
important social change movements were started by
low- and middle-income people, giving time, talents,
or what little they could afford. The Congress on
Racial Equality, a key early civil rights organization,
raised its budget in the early 1950s from 12,000
donors giving an average of $4.83 per person.[]
For more insights from Chuck Collins go to:
http://www.calltorenewal.com/newsletters/00050202.html
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O n t h e R o a d
++++++++++++++++++++++
Sojourners road trips
September 22, 2000
Cleveland Ohio
Jim Wallis and the Call to Renewal
celebrate "faith-working"
------------------------------------------------------------
W e b S c e n e
+++++++++++++++++++++++
Cool siting of the week
Calvert Group
So you don't like how callously a company pumps
out toxic sludge? Put your money where your
mouth is.
Calvert Group, which runs socially responsible
mutual funds, lets you quickly determine if your
mutual fund has a stake in the offending company.
Just type in the name of the fund and the target of
your wrath, hit the "Go" button and see if they
match.
Calvert originally designed the tool to
screen for tobacco stocks, but figured, why
target just one industry? Go to:
http://www.calvertgroup.com/investor/ind-sri-know.html
-----------------------------------------------------------
................. E D I T O R I A L ......................
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